It's been a few days since my near major meltdown over chocolate cravings. So how did I fare? Not bad...but not perfect. At the end of Thursday night I did enjoy a mini cupcake for my son's birthday...and I'm not gonna lie, it was goooood. And then I went for a run. Not as punishment, I was scheduled to run anyhow. It just also made me feel a bit better.
And then the cravings were over. Back to unencumbered, healthy eating. Until someone put a cake in my fridge (thanks, Grandma Rhoda:)). And that highly colored yummy looking frosting was calling to me. So I paired a little bit of frosting with my frozen yogurt and let the family finish the rest. House once again cleared of unhealthy suspects.
My recent craving and cake confrontations taught me a few things about winning the losing battle:
1. Environment is everything. If cake isn't here, 99% of the time I won't think about or crave cake. Same with chocolate. Or cookies. Sure, 1% of the time I will still get crazy cravings out of nowhere that I'll have to deal with. But if I can minimize the temptation I can minimize the chance that I'll even make a bad choice in the first place. Leave a chocolate cake sitting on the counter? Eventually it will win. Leave a chocolate cake sitting at the store? I'll forget about it.
2. Small, occasional indulgences just may keep me sane (or at least what sanity I can still claim as my own). While I was losing the weight I did not indulge, pretty much ever. Not through Thanksgiving (that day sucked), only a cookie at Christmas, not through New Years or the Super Bowl or Thanksgiving. And let's be honest: that isn't feasible for me for a lifetime. I don't want to be Grumpy Gina sitting in the corner mad she can't eat pie. I want to enjoy the special days. Not to the point of gluttony. And not everyday is a reason for indulging. But when the urge or occasion hits, I need to remember a small portion won't set me back, especially if I make adjustments to the rest of my week in terms of food and exercise. Healthy, with just enough sugar to be fun.
3. Plan ahead. Today we went to the zoo. I planned ahead what I would eat for the whole day so that I had the right food with me, and I didn't fall prey to whatever caught my eye on the food carts (they had Magnum Ice Cream bars, need I say more?) I stuck with my plan (woot!). Everyday that I plan ahead I'm so much more likely to eat healthy. And I tend to have a healthier relationship with food all around when I plan my "treats"...it removes the guilt, and I'm less likely to gorge myself.
I'll probably learn these lessons over and over again. I may get overconfident and think I can keep Reese's in the freezer...until a few days later I realize I've polished off the bag. Then I'll learn my lesson again. But for today I'm learning to accept this whole healthy weight thing is a life long process, and I will never be 100% perfect (and if I am, I probably won't have friends anymore).
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